My last article mentioned the 5 Step Plan and how for many years I “hoped”. Sure I took action and had 5 properties by age 32 but I hoped that things worked out, not expected that things would work out. It wasn’t until I had a HUGE wake-up call that I realised the power of our thoughts and the difference between hoping and expecting.
When my little brother took his own life (another story I’m very happy to discuss), I was forced to look at life differently. Being an ex-Army officer I was fine with details as well as BIG picture thinking, I had a very effective financial process happening and I was enjoying life in the fast lane, plus I had confidence! That is until 2004 when this event broke me into a million pieces! Coming out of the fog two years later I was able to thank my brother for allowing me to rebuild myself into a better ‘me’, and waking me up to a MUCH bigger perspective.
My greatest lesson from that experience is that the quality of our life is determined by the quality of our questions. Our brains are amazing and will find answers to the questions we ask it. So instead of asking ‘Why does this always happen?” ask “How can I stop this from happening?” Ask “What are the positives to this?” When it comes to property investing ask “How can we have our next property by 31 December (remembering that setting a specific time is important for the subconscious mind from our previous article)?” The subconscious mind is that part below the conscious mind like that part of the iceberg that is below the surface of the water. It’s the part that allows you to do other activities while tying your shoelaces because now you don’t have to consciously think of how to tie your shoelaces. It’s 85 to 95% of our brain activity and behaviour, which is why it’s so important.
I realised too that clarity is key. Just like having the picture for a jigsaw puzzle that helps to put the pieces together, clarity stops you from getting distracted by the next cool thing that other people seem to be doing. When you know distinctly what you’re aiming for you can make a detour. You may even change your aim but if you don’t start with something strong you’ll end up in retirement with something very vague and very little Government support.
What’s more important though than the what or how, is the why. And this is where our mindset becomes crucial. Because I don’t want to write a novella (yet) about how my subconscious limiting beliefs were formed and consequently overcome, just know that our associations with money are influenced by our caregivers.
It was not my father’s intention that I grew up thinking I had brains but did not belong to “those people” that had money. Nor that I not succeed in business. However having been told for 30 years (and to a certain extent still get told today), that people in business rip people off, can you see how a young girl wanting her father’s approval forms the subconscious limiting belief that if she succeeded in business she would lose her father’s love? Reread that sentence if you need to as I’m sure there’s a subconscious limiting belief you have around money. I’ve seen many and it’s awesome to see how, once these beliefs are brought to the conscious mind, they are overcome so that individuals become financially free.
When I called my father and raised this with him, he jokingly said “I didn’t mean you, you’re different.” Fast forward a couple of years and I bought a property in Las Vegas (outside my comfort zone and my own country), with the intention of running entertaining and educational stage shows. Being in the limelight is again uncomfortable but I push through it for the greater good.
~Novel Serialisation: Heavens Fire~
And I continue to strengthen my relationship with money, each morning and night thanking it for my freedom and being able to help others. Indeed the missing piece of our money puzzle is our mindset! So what questions are you asking yourself when it comes to property investing and what are your subconscious limiting beliefs? Til next time xx
